adorsed 
hearings placed back to back : opposed to afrontr. Equiv- 
alent forms are addorned, adogited, adosse, adossee, and in- 
dorsed. 
adosculation (ad - os - ku - la ' shpn), . [< L. as 
if *adoseulatto(n-), < adosculari, kiss, < ad, to, + 
oscular i, kiss : see osculate.'] 1. In physiol., im- 
pregnation by external contact merely, as in 
most fishes, and not by intromission. 2. In 
bot. : (a) The impregnation of plants by the fall- 
ing of the pollen on the pistils. (b) The inser- 
tion of one part of a plant into another. [Bare.] 
adosse, adossee (a-dos-a'), a. [F., pp. of ados- 
ser : see adorsed.] In her., same as adorsed. 
adossed (a-dosf), a. In her., same as adorsed. 
adown(a-doun'), adv. (orig. prep, phr.) a,n& prep. 
[< ME. adoun, adun, adoune, adune, odune, < AS. 
ddune, adv. and (rarely) prep., orig. prep, phr., 
of dune, down, downward, ht. off the down or 
hill: of, prep., off, from; dune, dat. of dun, 
down : see downi. n. The adv. and prep, down 
is a short form of adown.] I. adv. From a 
higher to a lower part ; downward ; down ; to 
or on the ground. 
Thrise did she sinke adou-ar. Spenser, F. Q., I. vii. 24. 
Of braided blooms unmown, which crept 
Adown to where the water slept. 
Tennyson, Recol. of Ar. Nights, st. 3. 
II. prep. 1. From a higher to a lower situa- 
tion ; down : implying descent. 
. 1 '/""// her shoulders fell her length of hair. Dryden. 
Star after star looked palely in and sank adown the sky. 
Whittier, Cassandra Southwick. 
2. From top to bottom of ; along the length 
of ; downward ; all along. 
Full well 'tis known adown the dale, 
Tin >' passing strange indeed the tale. 
Percy's Reliques, I. iii. 14. 
Adoxa (a-dok'sa), n. [NL., < Or. ddofof, with- 
out glory, < o- pri v. + <Wfa, glory : see doxology.] 
A genus of plants, of the natural order Capri- 
foliacere. The only species, A. Moschatellina (hollow- 
root), is a little inconspicuous plant, 4 or 5 inches high, 
found in woods and moist shady places in the cooler re- 
gions of the northern hemisphere. The pale-green flowers 
have a musky smell, whence its common name of mos- 
chatel. 
adoze (a-doz'). prep. phr. as adv. or a. [< a 3 , 
prep., -r- dose.] In a doze or dozing state. 
adpao (ad'pou), n. [E. Ind., < ad, ad (cerebral 
d) = Hind, ar, ar, a prefix implying deviation 
or inferiority, + Hind., etc., pauwd, poo, a 
quarter, a weight, the quarter of a ser.] An 
East Indian weight, equal in some places to a 
little less, and in others to a little more, than 
4 Ibs. avoirdupois. 
ad patres (ad pa'trez). [L. : ad, to; patres, 
ace. pi. of pater = E. father.] Literally, to the 
fathers ; gathered to one's fathers, that is, dead. 
adpress (ad-pres'), r. t. [< L. adpressus,jpp. of 
adprimere, (ad, to, + premere, press.] To lay 
flat ; press closely (to or together). 
Birds when frightened, as a general rule, closely ad- 
press all their feathers. Darwin, Express, of Emot. , p. 100. 
A most artfully coloured spider lying on its back, with 
its feet crossed over and closely adpressed to its body. 
B. O. Forbes, Eastern Archipelago, p. 64. 
adpressed (ad-presf), p. a. In lot., growing 
parallel to and in contact with the stem, with- 
out adhering to it, as leaves or branches. Also 
written oppressed. 
adpromissor (ad-pro-mis'or), n. [L., < adpro- 
mittere, promise in addition to, < ad, to, + pro- 
mittere, promise : see promise.] In Horn, law, 
a surety for another ; security ; bail. 
ad quod damnum (ad kwod dam'num). [L., 
to what damage : ad, to; quod='E.what; dam- 
num, damage.] In late, the title of a writ (1) 
ordering the sheriff to inquire what damage 
will result from the grant by the crown of cer- 
tain liberties, as a fair or market, a highway, 
etc. ; (2) ordering the assessment of the com- 
pensation and damages to be paid when private 
property is taken for public use. 
adradt (a-drad'), p. a. Same as adread^, p. a. 
I was the less a-drad 
Of what might come. 
William Morris, Earthly Paradise, I. 13. 
adradial (ad-ra'di-al), a. [< L. ad, to, near, + 
radius, a ray, + -a!.] Situated near a ray. A 
term applied by Lankester to certain processes or ten- 
tacles of a third order which appear in the development of 
some hydrozoans, the primary ones being termed perradial, 
the secondary ones interradial. Encyc. Brit., XII. 558. 
adradially (ad-ra'di-al-i), adv. In an adradial 
manner, 
adragant (ad'ra-gant), . [< F. adragant (= Sp. 
adragante, It. adraganti), a corrupt form of 
tragacanthe : see tragacanth.] An old name of 
gum tragacanth. 
82 
adraganthin (ad-ra-gan'thin), n. [<<tdragant(h) 
+ -i>ft.] A name given to purified gum traga- 
canth. See bassorin. 
adras (a-dras'), n. A stuff, half silk and half 
cotton, woven in central Asia, having a gloss, 
and usually striped. The gloss is heightened by 
beating with a broad, flat wooden instrument. E. Schuy- 
Irr, Turkistan, I. 5. 
adreadH (a-dred'), v. [< ME. adreden (pret. 
adredde, adradde, adred, adrad, pp. adred, adrad, 
adredde, adradde), < AS. ddrcedan, reduced form 
of anddriedan, and rdtdan, ondrcedan (= OS. *n>ul- 
dradan, antdrddan, flrfrarf<i = OHG. intrdtan), 
tr. and intr., dread, fear, refi. fear, be afraid, < 
and-, an-, on-(E. a- 8 ) + "drcedan (onlyincomp.), 
dread. Mixed in ME. and later with adread 2 , 
q. v.] I. trans. To dread; fear greatly. 
The pes is sauf, the werre is ever adrad. 
Pol. Poems and Songs, II. 6. (N. E. D.) 
II. intrans. or refl. To fear; be afraid. 
Oanhardin seighe that sight, 
And sore him gan adrede. 
Sir Trulrem, 1. 288. (.V. E. D.) 
adread 2 t (a-dred'), v. t. [< ME. adreden, ofdre- 
den, < AS.' ofdrcedan, make afraid, terrify, < of- 
(E. a-*) + "drafdan, dread. Hence p. a. adread*, 
q. v. Mixed in ME. and later with adread 1 , 
q. v.] To make afraid; terrify. 
With these they adrad, and gasten, sencelesse old wo- 
men. Uarsnet, Pop. Impost., p. 135. (X. E. D.) 
adread-'t (a-dred'), p. a. [< ME. adred, adrad. 
adredde, adradde, earlier ofdred, ofdrad, pp. of 
adreden, ofdreden, E. adread, v., make afraid: 
see adrea/tft, v.] Affected by dread. 
Thinking to make all men adread. 
Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia (1622), p. 126. 
adreamed, adreamt (a-dremd', a-dremt'), p. 
a. [< a- + dream + -ea*. The formation is un- 
usual, and the prefix is uncertain, prpb. a- 2 , 
the suffix -erf 2 being used, as sometimes in other 
instances, for the suffix -ing 1 . To be adreamed 
would thus be equiv. to to be a-dreaming.] 
In the state of dreaming. To be adreamed or 
adreamt (the only form of its use), (at) To dream. 
Hee is adreamd of a dry summer. 
Withalf, Diet. (1556). (.V. E. D.) 
I was a-dream'd I overheard a ghost. 
Fielding, Pasquin, iv. 1. (tr. E. D.) 
(b) To doze; be between sleeping and waking. [Prov. 
Eng.J flalliwell. 
adrectal (ad-rek'tal), a. [< arf- + rectum.] 
Situated at or by the rectum: specifically ap- 
plied to the purpuriparous gland or purple- 
gland of mollusks. 
The presence of glandular plication of the surface of 
the mantle-Hap and an adreelal gland (purple-gland) are 
frequently observed. Encyc. Brit., XVI. 648. 
ad referendum (ad ref-e-ren'dum). [L.: ad, 
to; referendum, gerund of referre: see refer.] 
To be referred; to be held over for further 
consideration. 
ad rem (ad rem). [L. : ad, to; rem, ace. of 
res, thing, matter, case, point, fact: see res.] 
To the point or purpose; pertinently to the 
matter in hand ; to the question under consid- 
eration; practically, considering the peculiar- 
ities of the special case. 
Your statements of practical difficulty are indeed much 
more arf rem than my mere assertions of principle. 
Ruskin, Daily Telegraph, Sept. 7, 1865. 
adrenal (ad-re 'nal), n. [<L. ad, to, + ren, only 
in pi. renes, kidney: see renal.] In anat., a 
suprarenal capsule; one of a pair of small 
glandular or follicular but ductless bodies, of 
unknown function, capping the kidneys in 
mammals and most other vertebrates. Also 
called atrabiliary capsule. In man the adrenals are 
an inch or two long, less in width, and about a fourth of 
an inch thick, and consist essentially of an outer yellowish 
cortical portion, an inner medullary portion (of very dark 
color, whence the term atrabiliary), with vessels, nerves, etc. 
See Addison's disease, under disease. See cut under kidney. 
Adrian (a'dri-an). a. [< L. Adrianus, prop. 
Hadrianus, Adriatic.] Same as Adriatic. 
Adrianite (a'dri-an-it), n. [< ML. Adrianitoe, 
< L. Adrianus, prop. Hadrianus.] 1. A member 
of a supposed Gnostic school of heretics men- 
tioned by Theodoret. 2. One of a sect of Ana- 
baptists in the sixteenth century, followers of 
Adrian Hamstedius, who held, among other 
things, that Jesus Christ was formed solely from 
the substance of his mother. Also Adrianist. 
Adrianople red. See red. 
Adriatic (a-dri-at'ik), a. [< L. Adriaticus, prop. 
Hadriaticus, < Hadria (now Adria), a town be- 
tween the mouths of the Po and the Adige, 
after which the sea was named.] Appellative 
of the sea east of the peninsula of Italy (the 
Adriatic sea); pertaining to that sea: as, the 
Adriatic coast. 
adrostral 
adrift (a-driff), prep. phr. as a<h\ or a. [< 3 
+ drift.'] 1 . Floating at random ; not fastened 
by any kind of moorings; at the mercy of winds 
and currents. 
Trees adrift 
Down the great river. Milton, 1'. L., xi. 832. 
So on the sea she shall be set adrift, 
And who relieves her dies. 
llri/den, JIarriage a la Mode, iii. 
Hence 2. Figuratively, swayed by any chance 
impulse ; all abroad ; at a loss. 
Frequent reflection will keep their minds from running 
tulri/t. Locke, Education. 
To turn adrift, to unmoor ; set drifting ; hence, figura- 
tively, to turn away, dismiss, or discharge, as from home, 
employment, etc. ; throw upon the world. 
Great multitudes who had been employed in the woollen 
manufactories, or in the mines, were turned adrift. 
Lecky, Eng. in 18th Cent., i. 
adlip (a-drip'), prep. phr. as adv. or a. [< a 3 + 
drip.] In a dripping state. D. G. Mitchell. 
adrogate (ad'ro-gat), t'. t. ; pret. and pp. adro- 
gated, ppr. adrogating. [< L. adrogatus, pp. of 
adrogare, later arrogare, take a homo sui juris (a 
person not under the power of his father) in 
the place of a child, adopt, < ad, to, + rogare, 
ask. The same word in other senses gave rise 
to arrogate^ q. v. See adrogation.] To adopt 
by adrogation. 
Clodlus, the enemy of Cicero, was adrogated into a ple- 
beian family. Smith, Diet. Antiq., p. 15. 
adrogation (ad-ro-ga'shon), n. [< L. adroga- 
tio(n-), later arrogatio(n-), < adrogare : see ad- 
rogate.] A kind of adoption in ancient Rome, 
by which a person legally capable of choosing 
for himself was admitted into the relation of 
son to another by a vote of the people in the 
Comitia Curiata, or in later times by a rescript 
of the emperor : so called from the questions 
put to the parties. Also written arrogation. 
adrogator(ad'ro-ga-tor), . [L.,< adrogare: sec 
adrogate and arrogate.] One who adrogates. 
adroit (a-droit'), a. [< F. adroit, dexterous, < a 
droit, right, rightly: a, to, toward j droit, rifjht, 
< ML. drictutn, prop, directtim, right, justice, 
neut. of directus, right : see direct. Cf. mal- 
adroit.] Dexterous ; skilful ; expert in the use 
of the hand, and hence of the mind ; ingenious ; 
ready in invention or execution ; possessing 
readiness of resource. 
You may break every command of the decalogue with 
perfect good -breeding : nay, if you are adroit, without 
losing caste. Lowell, Study Windows, p. 68. 
= 8yn. Cunning, Artful, Sly, etc. See cunning*. Adroit, 
Vexterov-s, Expert, Skilful, Clever, smart, handy, apt, quick, 
subtle. The first four words express primarily various de- 
grees in the combination of manual facility with know- 
ledge. Adroit and dexterous make prominent the idea of 
a trained hand : as, an adroit pickpocket; a dexterous con- 
jurer, swordsman. Adroitness implies quickness or sud- 
denness ; dexterity may require sustained agility. Adroit 
tends toward sinister figurative meanings : as, an adroit 
rogue ; but mental adroitness may be simply address or 
tact. Expert emphasizes experience, practice, and hence 
is commonly a lower word than skilful, which makes 
knowledge the principal thing : a skilful mechanic makes 
more use of his mind than an expert mechanic. Clever im- 
plies notable quickness, readiness, resource in practical 
affairs, and sometimes the lack of the larger powers of 
mind : a clever mechanic has fertility in planning and skill 
in executing what is planned. A clever statesman may or 
may not be an able one ; a man may be clever in evil. 
Why, says Plato, if he be manually so adroit, likely he 
will turn pickpocket. S. Lanier, The Eng. Novel, p. 117. 
The dexterous management of terms, and being able to 
fend and prove with them, passes for a great part of 
learning. Locke. 
His only books were an almanac and an arithmetic, in 
which last he was considerably expert. 
Thoreau, Walden, p. 161. 
Thus, like a skilful chess-player, by little and little he 
draws out his men, and makes his pawns of use to his 
greater persons. Dryden, Dram. Poesy. 
But the names of the clever men who invented canoes 
and bows and arrows are as utterly unknown to tradition 
as the names of the earliest myth-makers. 
J. Fiske, Evolutionist, p. 204. 
adroitly (a-droit'li), arft;. In an adroit manner ; 
with dexterity ; readily ; skilfully. 
He [Eadmund] turned his new conquest adroitly to ac- 
count by using it to bind to himself the most dangerous 
among his foes. J. R. Green, Conq. of Eng., p. 266. 
adroitness (a-droit'nes), . The quality of be- 
ing adroit ; dexterity ; readiness in the use of 
the hands or of the mental faculties. 
Sir John Blaquire had some debating power anil great 
skill and adroitness in managing men. 
Lecky, Eng. in ISth Cent., xvi. 
adroop (a-drop'), prep. phr. as adv. [< o 3 + 
droop.] In a drooping position. J. D. Long, 
, xi. 1128. 
adrostral (ad-ros'tral), a. [< L. ad, to, at, + 
rostrum, beak.] In fool., pertaining to or situ- 
ated at the beak or snout. 
